The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) has filed formal opposition against two separate applications by Republic Airways and SkyWest Airlines before the US Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration to diminish pilot training qualification and experience requirements. Both efforts are attempts to skirt the nation's first-officer qualification rules and will leave the flying public at increased risk, the pilots' union states. In April, Indianapolis-based regional carrier Republic requested an exemption from pilot training qualification and experience requirements for aspiring aviators enrolled in its private flight academy, arguing that its training programme is equal to that of the US military and trainees should be able to operate airline aircraft after 750 flight hours of experience.
A law enacted in 2010 requires US commercial airline pilots to have 1,500 flight hours. That law allows commercial airline requirements for flight hours to be reduced to 750h for current or former military pilots. Additionally, Utah-based regional carrier SkyWest is seeking permission from the DOT to shift some of its current scheduled operations to an "alter ego" charter airline with lesser-experienced, lesser-qualified first officers on the flight deck. ALPA president Joe DePete states: "Republic and SkyWest are now conceding that, despite receiving substantial federal support, they still can't figure out how to competently manage an airline without cutting corners on safety."

ANA Holdings has reached an agreement with Boeing to convert two 777-9 orders to the 777-8 Freighter variant, and confirmed a 737 Max order. The two 777-9s are among 20 covered by an order announced in March 2014, the Japanese group says. It indicates that the freighters are set to enter into service circa the 2028 financial year. ANA adds that the announcement reflects its "plan to further expand its cargo business through securing large freighters and to replace the domestic fleet's smaller planes with more fuel-efficient aircraft that will serve as the foundation for future growth". The group has also finalised its agreement for the purchase of 20 Max 8s, with options for a further 10, which was announced in January 2019. Introduction of the narrowbodies is scheduled to begin in fiscal 2025. They will replace ANA's 737-800s, currently in operation on domestic routes.

Hong Kong's government has done away with a mechanism that punishes airlines that fly too many Covid-19 positive passengers into the city by suspending flights on specific routes, but the city also plans to ratchet up testing requirements for inbound travellers. The scrapping of the so-called "route-specific flight-suspension mechanism", effective 7 July, is designed to make it easier for overseas Hong Kongers to visit the city during the peak July and August travel period, with a particular focus on facilitating the return of local students studying abroad, the government said in a 7 July press release. Those travellers, however, will be subjected to more Covid-19 tests, as the government says it now plans to require them to undergo an additional nucleic acid test on the third day of arrival, effective 8 July onwards. Earlier, it reinstated a requirement that travellers test on the ninth day of arrival in Hong Kong. The government believes that the "vast majority" of Covid-19 cases can be detected on arrival at the airport or in hotel quarantine, thus rendering the suspension of flights based on the number of Covid-19 positive passengers on board "not very cost-effective in avoiding the importation of cases". Hong Kong has been reporting around 1,000 to 2,000 cases of Covid-19 per day since mid-June, according to the government. During the same period, the percentage of confirmed cases from inbound travellers was around 1-3%, accounting for less than 10% of Hong Kong's overall number of cases. The government now says the risk of having community outbreaks induced by imported cases is "extremely low". A flight route being suspended for five days could see thousands of inbound travellers affected, the government says, adding that those travellers could also encounter difficulties in securing rooms in designated quarantine hotels. Hong Kong has some of the strictest Covid-19-related travel restrictions in the world and the city still enforces on-arrival quarantine. An undersupply of quarantine hotel rooms has been a long-running issue in the city that has plagued returning travellers. "The decision to implement the new measures was made upon careful review of relevant data, and the fact that it is currently the peak period for students studying abroad to return to Hong Kong," a government spokesperson states in the press release. "The relevant measures can help reduce the impact on inbound persons, and will particularly enable young people staying in overseas places to return to Hong Kong smoothly to reunite with their families during the summer holiday. The measures will also prevent the transmission of imported cases into the community in a more precise and effective manner, in order to maximise the anti-epidemic effectiveness with the lowest social costs."